Good Deeds

This week Haylie's nanny gave her my new most favorite children's book. It is adorable! It's called "Secretly Do Good Deeds" by Melody Carlson (from the "Just Like Jesus Said" series). It's all about a sweet little girl who does nice things for people, anonymously, like sweeping the porch for her grandma or getting a cold glass of water for her daddy. Here is a little excerpt from the book:

"But one thing I've found that makes me feel right

Is something done well, but just out of sight.

To make someone happy , makes my heart just glow,

But it's oh so much better, when they do not know."

I love that. I want to raise our kids to be compassionate and giving - to see the needs in others' lives and desire to help them. In the book I just finished there was a great quote that summed this up: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can!"

My latest book that I have been reading is called, "Raising Unselfish Children in a Self-Absorbed World." I am really loving the book and all the tips on ways to help your children focus on others and give back. At one point the author - Jill Rigby - tells a story about taking her boys into the dry cleaners to pick up some laundry. The ladies in the shop were sweaty and exhausted - it was terribly hot out and the air conditioner wasn't working. So Rigby took her kids to the little market next door where they bought cold water bottles and ice and promptly delivered them back to the dry cleaners. "The boys beamed as they handed out drinks and offered snacks...My sons haven't forgotten that day."

I really want to commit to demonstrating this type of compassion for our children and raising them to have a heart for others. That would be success!